MorphEQ,

Thank you for responding. I took your statement as you meant it. knighton5 has his own issues to deal with regarding unions. On to your post.

I empathise with you in the way you were treated by some union workers. There are a lot that feel that way but most do not. Please remember that when they say "I'm not allowed", they are hopefully following their contract. To those that use that as a BS excuse for getting out of work, I say, get out of my union!

Althought the Teamsters represent many different jobs (airport, sanitation, clerical etc), my interest is truckdrivers. That is what this site site is all about. At my company, the drivers, dispatchers, warehouse and tankfarm employees are all Teamster Union members. We all help each other and on the road, I would hope that they help out other drivers as well. I know I do but I cannot speak for others.

I too work for every penny that I earn. Yes, some days are better than others. We haul both freight and bulk liquid in tankers. I was hired as a tanker driver but there are days that there is not enough tanker work and I have to pull freight. Not every delivery is to a dock with a forklift. We have manual pallet jacks and drum dollies. How would you like to move 3500lb tanks to the back of the trailer with a manual jack? Sometimes, you can get a run with 6-15 stops on it. Thankfully, I am mostly on tankers. The only drawback is there is a lot of time spenting sitting. Last month, I was at a customer for almost 7 hours BEFORE I was given the OK to unload. The bright spot is that we are paid by the hour so I sat there and read my newspaper (over and over) and listened to Sirius radio.

Considering what chemicals we haul, I think I am underpaid ($24.14per hour). Methanol, Xylene, Alcohol, Caustic, Cyanide, Acids ect. Just to name a few.

I post on here to try to inform drivers that there is something better out there if you take the time to look for it. When I read so many of these posts here it makes me sick. Have you taken the time to evaluate the companies that are mentioned here? The pay, cost of benefits (or lack thereof), retirement, hometime, free time, the list goes on and on.

Companies talk about bonuses, referalls, longevity, potential, turnover ect. In my opinion, any company that uses these catch phrases to attract drivers is not worth their weight in salt. That goes for the majority of companies who place ads in truckstop magazines.

Yes, there are those drivers who truly enjoy the OTR trucking life. My hat is off to them and wish them much success. However, there are too many drivers out here paying too much much for benefits and being away from home for too long. I think that those drivers deserve to be paid for sitting on their backsides while in service to their company. Until this changes, you will continue to see the huge turnover rate and the rants and raves that this site provides for them.

Drive safe

its not for everyone ,but the ones who do luck out ..congrats i just cant do it personally

I understand that - I had some BIG confusion and issues with the way we run at first - a few older guys pulled me aside and said to take a leap of faith and "let it happen" - seemed like I would not make a dime only running a few days a week - but it all fell into place.

goodluck

074344

Perhaps I should change my stance, I wouldnt mind driving for the Teamsters if that is the entity over drivers as we are. I'd put in my share and move up the ranks. I just hope they are as one poster said above and not like the Unions I have dealt with. But as I am new to the OTR scene, how long and with whom would be a good place to begin, in your opinion as far as companies? That way when I get some miles under me and time I can begin the research quest. Thanks in advance, and I apologize for the nasty attitude previously.

Morph

morph - you ask any ove the guys i work with that had OTR experience and all of them will tell you this is the best gig since sliced bread - we have )))zero((( turnover among those guys... the only guys that ##### and have attitude seem to be the teamsters that hired in when they were 18 - and have never had another job (of anykind).

there are a lot of good resources for finding a new company in other forum listings under new drivers etc etc - but dont fall inot the myth that you have to be an old hand to get a union job... - we hired several guys right out of driving school last year (and they are all doing fine - even the ones laid off for a few months).

good luck on your search - keep an open mind.

And im not trying to be sarcastic here, but who the heck would leave a job that pays 80-110k? lol. If you take an OTR driver who makes maybe 50 grand and more than double it for a job that requires them to work less, who wouldnt take it? The words "friggen cakewalk" enter my head here. "So uh frank....want to drive a truck around the area, be home almost daily, run small runs, and hmm mlets see, earn more than medical doctors?"

Now Im not trying to offend you or any other trucker out there. But when you are a company driver and there is no risk involved, and you make up to 110k a year, how do you justify that? Is your ability to push a pedal and turn a round object (amongst other abilities that...to be honest, a middle school drop out could do) actually worth $110k?

I myself would have a hard time working for a company that pays so much money. Its not that I wouldnt be able to do it, because hey, its driving a truck...but the pay is obscenly grossly out of any reasonable range for the skill requirements (breathing, having all limbs...etc). But I could not bring myself to work at a company where I didn't feel that I was earning my pay. I don't know how I could justify earning six figures while being a company driver when the skills required for the job are skills that most living people have.

Its just like paying a guy to come into your house, and put two pipes together, or to put up a wall. Lets pay you more in an hour for doing a job that requires a skill you can learn in a week or less, than I make in a half day in my degree earned job.

I never said anyone leaves - it was a comment on where we came from (otr /oo's etc etc)


I understand your sentiment about the pay - at first I was a bit uncomfy and it battled my work ethic - but really look at it - if I did not take the job - someone else would have and I would still be runing my own biz / trucks for the same $ with 3 times the effort and sweat...

I have no need to prove myself as a working class hero to anyone anymore - I just wanted to slow down and enjoy my life more...

I could have also taken a local equipment mover job (backhoes and bulldozers) - it paid 13 an hour....


it was a simple decision - and like the heading on the topic says "is it better?" for me - yes.

MorphEQ,

Sorry it took so long to get back to you but I took the family out to dinner last night. There are a few different unions that represent truckdrivers. I can only speak about the teamster local here because they are the entity that represents us at my company. I cannot speak for other teamster locals, other unions or the behavior of their membership.

As for being new to the OTR scene, good luck. I know there are a lot of drivers that really enjoy it. I for one, could not do it. It's not that I don't mind driving, I just don't like to work for free. Breakdowns, waiting to load/unload, waiting to be dispatched, cost of benefits, cost of living on the road (meals, laundry, toiletries etc.), paid time off, and being away from loved ones just to name a few.

Do I get to see a lot of the country, no. But to see it from the window of a moving truck is not my cup of tea. If we want to go somewhere, that is what vacation is for in my opinion.

No need to appologize. Just remember that there are many different people out there with different work ethics. There is no need to lump them all together in one group. Best of luck on your search, not for a job but for a career.

Drive safe

Well Hell yeah it is better. And thats just the pay. 110 grand for doing a 40-50 grand job. Talk about sitting pretty.

What Im looking at here is how you say it battled your work ethic, and you still took it anyways which seems like the money won out. It doesn't matter if someone else would have taken the job, because you are you, not them. You can live with a choice that you make. Obviously, lol.

There is no way I'd work for a job that had low requirements put paid a wage that was out of this world, especially if I have no risk involved whatsoever.
I mean, this is how I look at it: When I work, I bust my butt doing the best job I can. I know that by sweating and coming home tired, Im doing my job, getting it done, and making the customers as happy as I can. I've been running this route since the end of October and already have been told more than once that Im the best driver they have had in a very long time on this route: I call them with an ETA, I communicate, I go back there if I forget something...etc. I even help out the other routes when needed or other company drivers (for free! lol) When I get paid at the end of the week, I know without a shadow of a doubt that I earned and worked danged hard for that paycheck. My Dad told me when I worked at his store and he caught me sitting down, that he didn't pay me to sit on my bass. He paid me to work. Ever since, I keep reminding myself of that. I get paid to do my job and I earn that pay.
At a radio station, I volunteered over 40 hours a week. As a teacher, I often worked seven days a week and during the summer. As a para professional, I created spreadsheets and databases for my administration to review (not asked to do that or paid to do it). While at the same time doing that, I would work in the evenings and weekends at Wal Mart. At union and non union shops, I would annoy managment and fellow workers by asking for other work and chores to keep busy. At a coal plant, I would go home dirty, sweaty, and covered in coal dust because I would shovel coal dust into the silos to keep busy while the other workers were playing smear.

However, I don't feel a wage that is outrageously skyrocketed is something I could feel that same sense of pride with. Actually I would feel guilty. There is no way I could look at myself in the mirror and know I was working for and earned that paycheck.

Maybe thats just me.

Enjoy your Union, its just a matter of time and reality will settle in... Unions will leave the country and yes it will. Just wait and see. Dollar Tree, Target, Walmart, oh heck, if you dont see it coming then good luck to ya! Besides, Unions create laziness! DRIVE SAFE